Echoes of Time (Harry Potter)

October 23rd, 1943

Saturday Morning

"Walburga didn't seem too pleased with you."

Harry looked over to Corene, noticing the way in which she failed to hide her contempt now that Walburga had left.

"No, she didn't." Harry doubted she would be - he'd taken her gift and done nothing with it.

"Ready to tell me what it is she gave you?"

He took in a breath and turned fully to face the Carrow girl, thinking as he did that they had known even when it was brought up in his sanctum.

"Not particularly, no," Harry responded, he wasn't sure what fully to make of the book and while he doubted it could be anything too useful, he still didn't want it falling into Riddle's hands.

"Okay," Corene said with a shrug.

Harry waited for her to start walking after hearing his answer, but she didn't.

"Are we going for breakfast?"

Corene looked at him questioningly for all of a few seconds until recognition lit up, "Yes, yes we are."

Harry saw how the girl held out her arm and obediently curled his around it, locking them together while they exited the greenlit Slytherin common room.

Once they were out and at the start of their journey, Harry figured it was safe enough from prying ears and asked just what the trio knew about his gift from Walburga.

Corene shrugged again and made a bored expression, but nonetheless, she answered his question when asked a second time.

"We know one of the boys her family pays to keep an eye on her was given a little extra by her to drop something off to you - a pretty ancient book based on Family History if my memory serves me true."

Harry didn't give anything away with a sharp intake or glance, he continued walking with a steady pace while Corene had stopped speaking to peek at him. When she appeared satisfied, or rather, dissatisfied at his lack of response, she continued.

"No matter what Daphne or Riddle would offer in exchange for the information, he was adamant in keeping the book's genial coverage a secret and couldn't be suitably isolated for further… questioning."

Harry noticed easily how carefully picked the word 'questioning' had been - he only hoped nobody would have to go through that again now that he was here. But to do that, he would need power and knowledge the likes of which would take decades to obtain.

Unless there was another way.

His thoughts ran rampant with what he could access to gain such an advantage; Slytherin's common room, Slytherin's journal and quite possibly, once returned and with enough time, Peverell Manor's Library.

"Don't bother with him anymore - it's a book on House Gaunt. I'm having Sarah grab one on House Peverell from her family library too."

Corene blinked, "You're just… telling me this?"

Harry smiled and shrugged in an imitation of her, "Nothing secret about it, at least not in way of content - a goal of mine while out in the world is to learn about all the families of old that are gone and those that have risen up to take their place," he looked over to see if she were buying his explanation and was met with no outward expression, thus, he continued, "Really, I only kept it 'secret' since I know Riddle isn't overly fond of her."

"I see," Corene answered before returning to silence, likely mulling over the information he'd just given her.

"Yeah, after the impromptu lesson provided by yourself, I was interested. My family would rarely speak often of other Houses, but when they did, it was always the same few that were considered our friends. Sure enough by the time of our coming out, a good majority of them are gone, so I've learned."

Corene clicked her tongue and snapped her fingers, "Your asking about those families had seemed a bit… off - at least at the time. I suppose I didn't think many others would be overly interested in family history, but I should have known better, especially when considering your limited experiences," she looked at him with an expression he couldn't quite place, "Pardon my saying this Harry, but I half thought you would be spending your time here similarly to Aster once you took to him so easily."

He was confused about her jump from her possible interest in family history to his potential for slacking as a result of spending so much time with Aster.

Based on her silence, she wanted him to say something in response too.

"No problem?" that sounded right… right?

Corene smiled, "Splendid," she veered them off course to the Great Hall and set them on a path for his classroom retreat, "Luckily for you, I have much in regards to family history within my satchel - Riddle to is curious about family's, albeit specific ones."

Harry put up no attempt to stop them reaching their next destination, deciding to use the time with his 'friend' to figure out if she was truly that - but only once they were within the room. Ever since Riddle had added a few layers of protection to it, he thought it had the potential for being one of the safest and most secretive rooms within the walls of Hogwarts.

"Will you tell me something while we walk?" Corene asked, cutting the silence as they ascended the stairs.

"Sure," Harry affirmed, his gaze lifted from the girl and over to the painted window along the wall where lightning from the storm outside flashed through.

"Do you intend on staying in the magical community after Hogwarts?" Corene's question was a bit surprising, he hadn't thought he'd said anything contrary to that.

"Yes," came his response after thinking about it for only a few seconds; the decision not being nearly as sincere or sure as he thought he'd sounded - that was for a number of reasons too.

Would he be allowed to stay here once Riddle was defeated or stopped? Would he want to?

"Good."

Harry's eyes moved from the glass towards the girl beside him in a sweeping motion, picking up only barely that her gaze had been on him rather than the path they were headed.

"Why?"

They were almost to the top of the stairs now, their pace being a casual one. Harry's next step being perfectly in sync with the thunder as the storm grew ever closer.

"I suppose for the very same reason Elaine is always near you, or when she isn't, why you inevitably come up as a topic of conversation when she has Daphne and I with her - you're interesting."

Harry turned his head from the forward direction in which it'd previously been and joined it with his eyes which had been on Corene - Riddle would always say those words with a smile or blush, potentially even a flirty gesture, but Corene did nothing of the sort.

Instead, she was maintaining the same pace and relaxed stance in which she always walked. When he moved to her arms and hands for any indication of embarrassment or anxiousness - like when Riddle would play with her ring - again, there was nothing. Finally, her face, which itself was usually kept behind a curtain of long black hair that hid pale, sharp features. In the instances when she'd step upwards and her hair would go forwards, he could make out the near-blank expression on her face.

With all his observations coming up empty, he was left suitably confused about the intent of her words.

"You picked a remarkably out of the way classroom." Corene idly commented as they passed under the archway that led them into the hall - only one corner from the room now.

"I did - it was to avoid all the new attention I'd been receiving once Riddle told everyone they could finally speak with me." It also provided him with a sense of security for Slytherin's study being that this room was at the opposite end of the school and on the highest floor.

"Ah, yes," Corene paused mid-sentence and pulled him to the side as soon as she'd turned the corner, her doing so only barely making Harry miss collision with two peers that had just emerged from a cupboard nearby - their clothes ragged and their complexions reddening.

"Sorry." Grunted the boy as he pulled the shorter girl against himself and hastily made for the stairs with her.

Corene shook her head and glanced at Harry as she began leading him the remaining dozen or so steps until they made it to his classroom.

Harry took the time to ask her who those two had been, curious for the sake of it.

"Asher Lehouler and Lydia Clipper," Corene had responded before explaining that, "They're both troublesome - I would suggest staying away from them if you'd like to avoid the punishments they so often face."

After saying that, she made the mark on the doorway - something Riddle had set up a few days after her initial finding of his room as means of a lock - and entered in. Harry followed close behind her and as soon as he was completely inside, closed the door. Corene in the meantime started the fireplace as well as the torches on the wall.

Very few people knew of the room and it was their intent to keep it that way.

"Would you prefer to sit near the window or by the fireplace?" Corene asked him that after setting down her satchel on one of the transfigured chairs Riddle had expertly made. He could see the reason for her question being the papers she was gathering up in her arms.

"Either one, I've not got a preference," Harry replied.

"Fireplace then," Corene chose, depositing her papers on the table as she subtly forced her chair closer to the heat emanating from the flames.

Being that it was a weekend and they were on free time rather than going from class to class, Corene had chosen to forgo her robes while keeping the rest of her uniform perfectly worn. Based on the slight rosiness of her cheeks, that was something she'd come to regret during their walk and even more so now that they had stopped moving.

Harry shrugged off his robes as he made his way closer to the chairs Corene had picked and once he was within a foot of her, held them out.

"Here, can't have you catching a chill."

Corene looked up at him from her seat and dipped her head once. "Thank you, Harry."

He smiled and moved over to his chair while Corene stood to secure the robes around herself - he nearly laughed when she sat back down again when he noticed how large his clothing was on her thinner frame. Reinhard must get that feeling whenever anybody wears anything of his.

After stretching out contentedly like a cat while basking in the heat the fire provided, Corene asked which family he would like to discuss first.

While half-tempted to say Gaunts, he knew bringing too much attention to the family could be problematic. As such, he went with one that he'd not been able to find really anything about and most dearly wanted to.

House Oleander; anything useful about Daphne's family would be nice considering the animosity the girl had shown him thus far. Maybe learning about her could help offer insight as to why she seemed so antagonistic.

Corene said it was as good a choice as any and leaned towards him from her chair, holding open a book for them to read together. At the top of the page when he had gotten close enough to read the words, he saw, 'House Oleander, A History of'.

Unfortunately, its index only listed a dozen pages - maybe that was why the girl was so sour.

Originally thinking he'd use the majority of time to speak with Corene in regards to what he'd learned from Riddle, Harry couldn't help but feel intrigued by the book she presented which seemed to have a wealth of knowledge on the many Pureblood families in magical Britain.

"Where's a good point to start?" He asked Corene as the girl settled into the side of her chair; everyone knew that a lot of content in a book could be skipped without missing anything overly important.

"From the beginning - shortcuts are a dangerous thing, Harry." Corene had seemed to guess his line of thinking and clearly didn't approve of it.

Harry stayed silent and leaned closer so as to make sense of the small text written in the book, but he couldn't.

"Is that French?"

Corene looked over at him, "Yes, my apologies for failing to mention that."

"How do you plan on learning its contents then?" In hindsight, it was a stupid question to ask.

"By reading it; only the first few pages are in French too, once her family moves in the year nineteen-twenty the Lord of the family makes a conscious effort to integrate into British society as painlessly as possible." Corene had read this already, that was the first conclusion he came to. The second was that she potentially knew a good deal of French, at least enough so to understand what had been written as he'd not heard of any magic that could translate, though that wasn't to say it didn't exist.

It wouldn't hurt to ask if it existed though, thus he did just that.

"Is there some spell or maybe runic combination that lets you understand a language?"

Corene cocked her head and smiled while biting her bottom lip, likely in an attempt to stop herself from laughing.

Once she had enough composure to stop herself from doing just that, she told him that thus far, it was impossible. That wasn't to say it would stay that way, there's always a wizard or witch that would take up the challenge.

"Are you ready to begin?" Corene asked him once they were done being side-tracked - the girl taking out more books and singular pieces of parchment while doing so.

Harry scratched his chin as a form of delaying his response, feeling the stubble from not shaving in a couple of days. He would have to take care of that when he was done here.

As he'd spent more and more time with Slytherin students, he'd learned how judgemental they could be based on appearance and behaviour. While normally he'd not care what others thought of him overly much, it wouldn't do to look sloppy in the presence of so many of his new Housemates that he was hoping to lead away from the path they'd already embarked on.

"Harry?" Corene's voice roused him from his thoughts and a moment later, she had put one of her warm hands on his forearm when he'd still not responded.

"Yeah, yeah I'm ready - won't we miss breakfast if we take too long though?"

"Did you want breakfast?"

Harry furrowed his brows, hadn't Corene asked him to come for bre- ah, he understood now. She had gotten him away from Walburga and at the same time would spend further time with him.

"Nah, we can go to the kitchens for a snack after we're done here." if we're still friends by that time.

He'd added the second-half of the sentence solely in his mind, inwardly fearful of the outcome their talk after her teaching would have.

"Very well," Corene said, she then dabbed a finger to her bottom lip before bringing it to the book and flipping the page, "I'll read aloud the contents of the first page in English for you."

She looked to see if that was agreeable to him, it was.

"House Oleander - which at this time was spelt differently if you look at this page," Corene showed him what she was referencing and he did see that instead of it being Oleander as he'd come to know, it was 'Oléandre'.

Corene continued when she was satisfied that he'd seen it.

"House Oleander came to prominence in the year 1909, when the previous Lord of House Oleander stepped down over health concerns and the eccentric Heir, Gael, took over. Over the next year, their family's stances would radically change. So drastic were these changes, that the previous Lord, Gael's father, withdrew from the public-eye in shame. One example, the greatest of them all, was House Oleander's view on Half-breeds and Muggleborn. Previously, they had been firmly opposed to the inclusion of those lesser-magicals in government positions or any other form of work that could lead to prominence or influence. Within six months of his taking over, Gael had proposed a bill to remove segregation of the two social classes and allow marriage between a Pureblood or Half-blood and a Muggleborn or Half-breed."

Corene finished the page and flipped it, allowing Harry a moment to absorb all the information she'd just given him.

What stuck out to him thus far was the son's extremely different view from his father - why was he so including and different than the man who'd raised him? More than that, why did Daphne seem so different from Gael if her family had changed to be far more inclusionist?

A slight clearing of the throat from Corene told him she was about ready to begin again, causing him to turn his attention back to her.

"This proposition initially stalled on the floor for some number of months, eventually causing the year to turn over while various politicians declared that the bill was solely to 'spite' his estranged father. Gael, fearing that his political career would be over before it'd properly begun, thus ending the progress he was aiming for, did something that was rarely seen at the time. He openly came out to declare he was in a romantic relationship with a half-giant woman with the intent on marriage should the ban of it be lifted. With growing tension from a potential Muggle conflict on one side and fear of revolt through the magical colonies established in Africa and Asia on the other, the French Ministry was forced to allow the vote through to the floor. One week later, with a vote of 27 for and 24 against, it passed. Over the next few years until the breakout of that Great Muggle war, House Oleander went on to lead the charge for rights of all magickind," Corene paused and looked over to Harry, "A good deal of the remainder of these two pages covers their efforts during the war, the loss of family sustained and their eventual immigration to Britain. Without getting overly into it, Gael and his wife Aline were killed by a rival political faction towards the end of the war - so they claim - and thus, Gael's younger brother Olivier took control of the family."

"Why 'so they claim', did they fail to get caught?" Harry was caught up in the story being told, history truly was always so interesting.

Corene set the book on her lap, "House Oleander claims it was a political assassination coordinated by a rival family so they would cease the progressive laws they were passing - France's Département de la justice magique - we know them as the DMLE - denounced that and said it was nothing of the sort. They provided evidence in form of multiple testimonies that it was an attack on their estate for the wealth within by a notable criminal in the region."

"Who was right?" He blurted out.

In response to his question, Corene shrugged and reached back for the book with a contemplative look on her face.

Before he could ask her what the look was in regards to, she spoke.

"This is… quite a bit to go over now that I remember how rich Daphne's family was in their past," Corene skipped ahead in the book until the most recent of years, "We'll be taking a look at the most recent information provided, this is in hopes that you can remember at least some of it rather than overloading you with everything."

"We have the time, don't we?" Harry didn't want to lose out on any further information he could gather on Daphne's family and furthermore, being read to while beside a fire was extremely relaxing; especially so when the voice of the reader was incredibly soft.

"We do," Corene initially agreed, "However, I imagine you have another use for a portion of this time."

Harry was caught off guard - he hadn't told anybody that he was planning on having a discussion with Corene or any of the others that needed ascertaining in their friendship.

Corene caught the look he was giving her and shook her head while rolling her eyes.

"If you were meaning to keep that a secret, Harry, my advice is to avoid looking at the person a dozen times a day."

Ahah! He had been betrayed! Only the culprit was the worse one of them all - himself.

"Yeah…"

Again, Corene put the book down onto her lap and looked over to him; though this time, she'd moved from her comfortable position tucked in the side of the chair to sitting straight with her hands resting on the book in her lap. Needless to say, her posture was perfect, as if that way of sitting had been practised thousands of times.

"What were you wishing to discuss with me and will it be in a formal manner?"

Harry shook his head, "Wait - let's finish that page that you'd said we would, then we'll talk," a second went by before he included, "And no, it won't be in a formal manner."

Corene stayed sitting straight up while staring at him and Harry thought for a moment that she would press on, wanting to get the conversation out of the way before she went back to her reading. When he thought he would have to relent, the girl had a slight upturn of her lips and slowly went back into the seated position she'd been in prior.

"House Oleander has most recently regained the prominence they once held in France's equivalent of the Wizengamot, only with their original stances rather than the progressive ones under Gael. It took nearly twenty years for them to obtain a seat on the Wizengamot and when they did, it was thanks to their wealth along with the fall of older British families. As of three months ago, they were hoping to pass a law that would secure the banning of Half-breeds from any government-associated businesses so international prestige wouldn't be lost with other European powers," Corene closed the book and put it back in her satchel.

"That seemed fast," Harry remarked.

"It was half a page with a great degree of uselessness for somebody with your lack of political intrigue at this current time," Corene responded truthfully, he knew she wasn't trying to sound rude or condescending to him.

"Why'd they switch a second time?"

Corene shrugged again, "There's a great deal of minor points that I attribute to the difference between Gael and Olivier, most of them point back to their father and the way in which he raised them differently," she switched from her position leaning towards him and into one that had her back fully against the chair, "Are you prepared for your discussion?"

Harry mimicked her, leaning back from the side that had him closer to her until his back had made contact with the incredibly comfortable seat.

"Yeah."

Uncharacteristically, Corene asked a second question rather than let him get to the point.

"Will it be extensive?"

He didn't think it would, his plan was to bluntly ask if Riddle had ordered her to get to know him. Maybe the answer could be difficult if it was partially true?

"I suppose that depends on you."

That was the answer Harry gave Corene.

"I see… please, go ahead." Corene tucked an errant strand of hair with her ear and when it immediately came back to the front of her face, began looping it around her fingers instead.

Harry took in a breath before he asked her an incredibly straightforward question.

"Are you friends with me because Riddle ordered you to be, or was it something you actually wanted to do?"

Corene made no expression in the immediate aftermath of his question - he hadn't expected her to. She was incredibly gifted at hiding how she felt no matter the situation.

"I suppose she told you that a select group was given her blessing to speak with you?"

Corene counter-questioned him.

"Yes," Harry answered, "She told me Aster, Reinhard and you were given her permission - but where does permission stop and an order start?"

Corene's eyes bore into his and after thirty seconds, she answered his question.

"Originally, Abraxas, Reinhard and I were strongly encouraged to spend time with you - that was told to us the very night of your coming over to Malfoy's manor."

"If that's the case, why did Aster speak with me more than Abraxas that evening?" Harry didn't want to doubt her words, but it hadn't gone the way it should have if she were telling the truth.

"Aster is very difficult to keep in line," Corene paused and scowled, she wasn't happy with something - he could see that easily enough. Whatever it had been passed after a fleeting look of consternation and she continued her speaking, "Elaine extends a certain degree of impunity to him so long as he continues providing what he does for the group, that degree of impunity has only grown since he's become one of those who you spend a majority of your time with."

"Why does that matter?"

Corene rolled her eyes, "I see what you're fishing for, but I don't think you need to be told yet again that Elaine is interested in a romantic relationship with you."

"She's willing to let Aster off just because we're mates?" How did that make any sense? If somebody deserved to get reprimanded, it didn't matter who's friend they were; then again, this was Riddle they were talking about, she was likely to punish you for failing to do something nefarious in nature.

"Elaine would do whatever the situation dictates in order to keep you happy and within her circle."

Harry snorted at Corene's words, "I can't help but think you shouldn't be telling me that."

Corene hummed and shrugged half-heartedly from her relaxed position in the chair.

"You likely knew that already - I simply confirmed it."

"How do you always seem to know what's on my mind?" Harry winced when he heard how stupid a question it was once spoken aloud.

"You're a very visible thinker, Harry - besides, it isn't very hard to connect the dots when somebody knows you."

'When somebody knows you', those words stuck out to Harry and more than that, they brought back to his attention that she hadn't answered the question yet, only eluded to an answer.

"You said it was Abraxas, Reinhard and you that were 'strongly encouraged' to speak with me - while that makes me very interested as to why Aster befriended me, it makes me question your intentions. Putting it plainly, did you spend time with me up until this current day out of regards to Elaine's words or for another reason?"

Corene didn't respond defensively, nor with aggression - her response to his heavy question was instead, her usual mask of blankness.

It betrayed nothing as to how she felt in the moment.

"In Diagon Alley and the week that followed, I went about befriending you for the sole reason to determine your nature," Harry's face tensed as he watched Corene, she noticed it too, but her response wasn't sorry, it was indifferent and when she continued, he knew why, "None of us knew anything about you, and as a rather larger anomaly, that had to change. You could've been aggressively light-sighted or the polar opposite. Anything radical like that and you'd have swayed the status quo serious enough to threaten the very stability of Magical Britain."

He cut Corene off, "So it was only because of Riddle then?"

She shook her head in the negative, "While Elaine is the best student currently within the walls of Hogwarts, and magically powerful to boot, there're more than a few of us who don't take her words as Merlin's own," Corene, seeing Harry was confused, clarified, "I wanted to know you initially out of concern for my ambitions; who knew what kind of influence you could be within the group and if that could negatively impact me after all the time I'd spent working alongside Daphne and Elaine?"

"What about after that 'initial' week then? I remember you not coming to see me very often until I imagine Riddle said something to you." Harry very much remembered the time that had passed since his last interaction with Corene on the evening Riddle had sought him out. It had been nearly a week with only pleasantries exchanged, the Carrow girl using all the time available to speak with Riddle.

As soon as he made a comment about her absence to Riddle, Corene was back the very next day and ready to speak with him to his heart's content. More than that, she'd invited him to her family get-together over Yule shortly after.

He almost put his head in his hands when he made the correlation while in the moment - was the invitation to her family's Yule celebration even hers, or was it another of Riddle's machinations?

Corene rested a warm hand on his shoulder, having leaned in from her seated position.

"Once that first week had come to pass, I realized how… sincere you were in your actions," She offered him a rare full-fledged smile, "From then on, I made an effort to speak with you and foster a working-friendship between us - before you make the comment that I'd stopped seeing you very often, it wasn't because of any ill intentions. I simply find, at times, that speaking with those that I don't know very well can be difficult."

Harry looked for any sign the girl was lying, and while he was admittedly very bad at reading people, he felt in his gut that the girl was speaking the truth.

After all, had she not helped him in his sanctuary while in the presence of Daphne and Riddle? More than that, Corene had told him important information in regards to the current politics and policies in place - that was information he'd not even known half as well during the time he had grown up in. In his opinion, after recalling the acts of aid provided by her, she had earned the second chance.

As such, he decided to side with his initial feeling of intuition and offer her an olive branch - even if she had lied to him, it was very easy to end a friendship and not nearly as easy to repair one.

"Thank you for being truthful, Corene - I apologize, too, if I came across rudely."

She still had the smile on her face and politely dipped her head once, saying "There's nothing to apologize for, Harry. I'd have done the same as you in ensuring who my friends are, though admittedly, I'd likely have been far less forward."

That was a double victory in his eyes; she wasn't cross with him for doubting her and the boldness in which he showed alerted him that a portion of his inner-Gryffindor was still present.

"Say, seeing as that did not take nearly as long as I'd suspected, what do you say we take a look at some information on another family?" Corene's smile had finally left her face as she shifted back into her business-like persona, going once more for her satchel full of familial information.

"House Oleander again?" Harry had thus far been incredibly curious about Daphne's family, with the information he'd learned coming across as incredibly interesting to him.

"No," Corene responded, explaining further when Harry shot her a confused glance, "I'd not want to overload you with information about a specific family while leaving others unknown to you."

"Which of the important House's do you have information on?" Harry asked that while adjusting himself in his chair so as to get closer to Corene.

"So long as it's been in Britain at least a decade and is of Pureblood, I'll have it." Corene's words made his eyes open while he glanced at her bag; just how much space did it have?

There were so many possibilities too!

Did Harry ask about the Potter's or Weasley's? Marcus had seemed strong and confident while Veronica seemed almost like a female version of Ron. Undoubtedly either of them would make a good ally once his years at Hogwarts came to a close.

Then there was Sarah and her family - they'd invited him over to Yule without having ever met him, their questions asked in those letters had been a bit on the intrusive side too. Did he pick them in hopes of learning more about the family's past? While on the subject of Goldhorn's, Harry tried to remind himself to spend more time with Sarah, he'd sparsely seen her in the past month thanks to the crowding of his housemates.

There always was the opportunity to pick Reinhard or Yaxley too - he'd spent a great deal of time with both the boys and knew very little about their family's.

He glanced over at Corene to see what she was doing and when he realized she was sitting quietly with her hands in her lap while waiting for him to pick, he hastily picked a family.

"What about Yaxley?"

Corene shrugged.

"His family is very secretive, but I said what I said. There's at least some information I could offer you that isn't useless political acts on the Wizengamot floor," Corene paused and put a finger to her lips in thought, "I do want to stress that the only information of their stances is taken during times of voting - it's always a matter of contention when a new Lord steps up."

"I understand," Harry replied before falling silent to listen to his reaffirmed friend, all the while enjoying that he'd not lost Corene as she continued speaking on about bills the Yaxley family had tried passing in recent times; a majority of them putting down Muggleborn, Werewolves and the like.

One even targeted the centaurs in the Forbidden Forest - as Hagrid had told him once, they get riled up more and more when their land is taken.

Maybe Harry could stop that from reaching its peak too.

Harry and Corene had gone on to spend another twenty minutes in the room while discussing the various bills the Yaxley family had tried and often failed in passing. During that time, Harry learned a bit more of the various political blocs that were of importance - he didn't at all care for it but Corene had stressed the importance of his learning them if he were to assist his family now that they had gone public.

As much as he hated to admit it, she was right. If he didn't want Riddle to take over from either a coup or from a civil war, he would have to get involved in politics to at least some degree.

Ah well, better not to think of it quite yet in his mind. There were still a few years of Hogwarts left before he had to make those critical decisions that are required of adults.

After politics and the various stances of House Yaxley (most of which being discriminatory, but occasionally progressive depending on the Lord) Harry made the call that they make for the kitchens for a snack. Corene seconded his idea for food and had hastily packed her bags, but rather than the kitchens, she wanted to share some of the large numbers of truffles he'd gotten her.

He wasn't one to decline such an offer either - the quality that came from that shop was simply astounding.

Thus, Harry found himself side by side with Corene at the entrance of the Slytherin common room, where he would then motion for his companion to enter first as any gentleman would. When Corene did just that and Harry followed in after her, she turned towards him long enough to say,

"Go take that pair of seats nearest to Elaine - the ones with the small stand near them."

She'd clarified before Harry even thought about asking the question and when he acknowledged her words, she was off in the direction of the girl's dorms entrance.

Looking between that entrance and the seats near Riddle, Harry couldn't help but wonder how it always seemed to come down to him being near her. Shrugging to himself due to a lack of answer, Harry walked the few yards until he was at the chair further from Riddle.

Immediately sensing the presence of another person, Riddle put down her book - of which the cover was incredibly worn - and looked up at him with a perfectly done smile.

"Good evening, Harry, have you come to speak with me?"

He shook his head as he lowered himself into the seat he'd picked, "No, not about anything particular at least."

"Ah, do you simply find the ambience and decor of the room to be as agreeable as I do then?" Riddle looked about the room fondly, not keeping her eyes on him for a response but likely expecting one nonetheless.

"It's unique, that's for sure."

Riddle looked back at him.

"In a good way, I hope."

Harry was slow in his response; sure, green-fire torches, dimly lit rooms and dark furniture wasn't horrible, but it wasn't great either. What was great about the Slytherin dorms?

Their views.

Waking up in Gryffindor tower to look out and see the countryside may very well be one of the most beautiful things on the planet. Especially when the sun hits that perfect angle or the colours all blend well into that pinkish tint, but that view wasn't nearly as unique as he'd initially thought while in the castle.

Slytherin's dorms on the other hand, with their viewing being into the dark depths of the large lake - it was something that'd calmed him many times over in the brief time he'd had the view.

"Yes. I'm not sure about you, but until I came to Hogwarts, I'd never had a view such as this."

Harry motioned towards the large bay windows at the back of the Slytherin common room as he'd finished speaking.

"Bellezza Mediterranea." Corene's voice sounded from behind his chair and not a moment later, the girl walked by him, gently setting herself down in the unoccupied seat.

"What's that?" Harry asked while Riddle remained silent.

"Somewhere that you can have a view that rivals even that of the Head Girl's room," Corene answered as she popped off the lid of a box of truffles, her hands already going for the topmost layer of delectable sweets.

"Oh." Was Harry's response - what else could he say when he hadn't even understood the exact words spoken?

He wasn't stupid, sometimes he could piece French together based on similarities to English, which is how he figured she said something about the Mediterranean. But what he couldn't do was guess at words that didn't share any similarities with that of their English counterpart.

"Elaine, do feel free to help yourself," Corene offered while plucking another of the truffles from the container, leaving only ten left.

Harry was surprised at the hesitation from Riddle - Voldemort in his timeline would have taken what he wanted before an offer had been extended.

Corene tapped the box as she sent an appreciative look at Harry, "You picked the compact boxes."

What did that me- Merlin's beard!

He understood what Corene meant when she'd said 'compact boxes', for as soon as she'd said that, she'd tapped the topmost shelf where the truffles had been only for another dozen to pop them out of place. It made him wonder how many of the delicious chocolates were inside.

Riddle smirked at him while Corene went in for another treat, the former girl finally moving to take up the latter's offer.

It was then when she stood up to take a few of the chocolates that Harry noticed the title of the book she'd been reading due to the worn cover giving way.

'A Greater Tomorrow'

He wasn't familiar with the work and knew immediately that he would have to ask Corene or Sarah about it, but for now, he would enjoy a morning and potentially more with Corene and El-Riddle.

October 24th, 1943

Saturday Morning

"Wake up Pev."

Harry groaned and turned away from the source of the noise - he'd only just fallen asleep!

"Get up mate."

This time the voice was followed up with a jabbing at his ribs.

Harry responded by swatting at the offender while trying to scooch away.

"Merlin's beard Pev - this is for Aster's birthday, remember?" Reinhard's exasperated voice finally cut through the fog that had taken over Harry's mind.

Immediately, Harry was out of his bed and rushing over to his wardrobe for clothes to put on that were suitable for sneaking - they couldn't be anything related to the Hogwarts uniform either, lest somebody alert the staff that students were about in Hogsmeade. Due to that issue, Harry picked one of the few outfits he was loath to wear out of fear of looking like a ponce - he knew that he'd look as such too, considering it was very reminiscent of an outfit Abraxas had once worn.

"Wow," Reinhard commented when he took in Harry's silken clothing.

"Yeah," Harry responded, glad the boy was in agreement with him that the clothing was horri-

"You'll have to show me where you got that from, looks deadly comfortable."

Oh, right - Purebloods. They hadn't a clue what they were missing from the muggle world in terms of clothing.

"Will do," Harry replied before heading over to the exit of the dorms in a quiet, likely exaggerated looking manner with Reinhard right on his heels.

They each looked at Abraxas' and Yaxley's beds, ensuring the other boys were asleep - which they were. Once affirmed, Reinhard tapped Harry on the shoulder and with a nod, motioned for Harry to quietly follow after him.

Harry did just that and stuck close behind the larger boy as they stealthily made their way through the dimly lit hall that separated the different years' dormitories. They kept up the snail-like pace until they were finally at the exit of the boy's dorms - a small portion of an otherwise long journey now complete.

Reinhard turned to Harry, put a finger to his lips in the universal sign to be quiet and peeked out the exit. Harry took it upon himself to look behind them while Reinhard was looking ahead, watching to see if any of the doors were opening.

A few seconds passed and a tap on his shoulder with a gentle tug alerted him that Reinhard was putting them on the move again.

This was how much of their journey went within the walls of Hogwarts - Reinhard would lead the duo around corners, through classrooms and occasionally, a passageway while Harry would keep a lookout for anything behind them.

As a testament to their efficiency, they avoided every Prefect or Professor that had been wandering the halls in the early morning with only one close call having happened.

But, as luck would have it, that close call came while the boys were already safely within their destination.

The funny thing was, Harry hadn't been nervous in the slightest at the potential of getting caught. If anything, he lived for moments like that - they reminded him of the antics he'd gotten up to in all the prior but future years he'd spent within the walls of the school. Maybe the adrenaline rush from the potential trouble was an added benefit too, it was something he sorely missed now that he no longer played Quidditch.

After that incident passed and the boys briefly celebrated getting through the castle without any complications, they made their way through the tunnel system that connected them to Hogsmeade, or more specifically, the cellar of some cramped basement that smelled like Troll.

Next time, Harry would have them take the one-eyed-witch passage rather than this far smellier option.

Reinhard looked to Harry when they were at the end of the tunnel and winked before saying, "Watch this."

The larger boy then tapped a series of stones that reacted by caving inwards, it reminded Harry of the Diagon Alley entrance he'd taken once.

A few seconds passed by with nothing happening and then the entirety of the wall deconstructed itself as it moulded into the walls on either side of the boys.

Reinhard stepped through, offered a hand out to Harry and when the latter boy was pulled through, Reinhard asked, "So?"

Harry shrugged as his response.

"Seen it before."

Reinhard stumbled on his words so much so that Harry couldn't figure out what he was trying to say until eventually, he got out something that was understandable.

"Impressive though innit?"

Sighing, Harry nodded and clapped his mate on an overly large shoulder.

"Yeah mate, yeah… where are we headed now?"

Reinhard didn't get to answer before heavy steps came thumping down the stairs and into view came a great bear of a man.